Author: bodyandfoodhistories

Words by Katrina Moseley (and Eleanor Barnett) An array of embodied foodways were brought before us in our end of year interdisciplinary conference, ‘Food and Embodied Identities in the Early Modern and Modern World’. Papers ranged in temporal scope from 1500 to 2000, weaving together the frameworks of anthropology, sociology, American studies, cultural studies, and history in an effort to unpick the connections between food and … Continue reading ‘Food and Embodied Identities in the Early Modern and Modern World, c. 1500-2000’

Words by Eleanor Barnett Thinking about bodies, it became clear to us that we are not sealed off from the wider world, but are constantly consuming and expelling substances. The list of bodily expulsions is long: excrement, urine, sweat, vomit, ear-wax, hair, sometimes blood or milk, to name a few. Exploring how these expulsions have been historically understood, and how we have subsequently removed them or … Continue reading Meeting Notes: Cleanliness and Bodily Expulsions

Words by Katrina Moseley Meeting date: 30/01/2018 Our reading group this term focused on our second bodily theme of ‘sex and reproduction’. Readings ranged in historical and geographical focus, from the sexual culture of Renaissance Europe (Judith Brown, Immodest Acts: The Life of a Lesbian Nun in Renaissance Italy) — to the medico-cultural world of Victorian Britain (Ornella Mosucci, ‘Clitoridectomy, Circumcision, and the Politics of Sexual … Continue reading Meeting Notes: Sex and Reproduction

Words by Katrina Moseley Meeting date: 17/10/2017 Our first session of term saw us discuss an activity so innate to humanity that we couldn’t help but pore over our own examples of personal and cultural encounters with it. From tattooing to teeth whitening; breast implants to bionic enhancements – not forgetting the array of more ‘mundane’ activities like hair removal; it seems that most of … Continue reading Meeting Notes: Bodily Modification

Michaelmas Term Card!

Renewed Funding!

We are very grateful to have been granted funding from the AHRC-DTP to continue for a second year of fruitful discussion and interdisciplinary collaboration!

CFP: ‘Extreme Bodies: Sports and Physical Limits Through History’

Exercise is essential for human health, but in the form of sport it has developed into a complex cultural activity that tests bodily boundaries, creates relationships, and unites and divides existing group identities. We are interested in understanding great physical feats of the human body and the meanings that societies have placed on such achievements throughout history. Example topics include: mountaineering, aeronautics and flying, the Olympic Games, and gender in sports…

We are an interdisciplinary group and would love to hear from Cambridge Uni graduate students from any discipline working on any period of the past. This meeting offers a friendly environment in which to share ongoing work and receive helpful feedback.

The graduate seminar will take place on Tuesday 30th October 2018, 5pm in Room 11 of the History Faculty. Papers should last 20-30 minutes, to be followed by discussion and drinks. If you are interested in presenting please email a brief abstract to Eleanor Barnett (erb54) and Katrina Moseley (klm76) by Friday 28th September.

New Blog Post!

Our blog post reflecting on our conference, ‘Food and Embodied Identities in the Early Modern and Modern World, c. 1500 – 2000’ is now published here!

New Blog Post

Conference Announcement!

We are excited to announce our conference on ‘Food and Embodied Identities in the Early Modern and Modern World, c. 1500 – c. 2000’! It will take place on Friday 29th June 2018 in the Faculty of History at the University of Cambridge.